Do me a favor...

[xoc]

Even though I don't deserve a favor, I ask you to search for posts by me on AF. I spent an hour counting through them last night, and a good 95% of them were informational posts. Only a small portion were flaming.

A lot of people here are convinced that I'm useless, and don't post anything of value, but I beg to differ. Yes, occasionally I will take a jab at someone, but it's no different than the tactics used by several well know peopl in the Xterra community. Yes, sometimes I am very harsh with my responses, but that's the way I am. If it makes people hate me, fine. The people who can't see through it, and find the lighter side are not people I would like to associate with anyway.

If you want to call me names, and make fun of XOC, go right ahead. But are you any different than me ?

[xoc]

On second thought, don't bother.

[warmonger]

Ian,

You know it's sad that I am the first one to respond to this all things considered. But likewise, I want you to search through your posts and find one instance where I have flamed or treated you the way you have treated me. You will only find one instance, and that was when I left your board. Sometimes you are right, sometimes I am right, and sometimes we both are. Yet when we disagreed, I would let it ride and you chose to call me all manner of choice names. Even after that time I have not publicly bashed you or said anything bad about you on any board. I may disagree with your attitude, but that is you and you do have quite a bit of useful knowledge that comes in very handy. It is disappointing when it is delivered with attitude for that reason. Maybe you should take a look back at your treatment of others and others treatment of you and evaluate it. I still harbor you no ill will believe it or not. I think I speak for lots of others when I say, drop the attitude on the public board. The reception you get would be vastly improved.

[Xlax]

Warmonger, I could not agree more with you. I have never seen any posts where XOC is objective.He is right or confrontation is just around the corner. The ability to see the other person's point of view is a quality that you would, as an intelligent individual achive so much more with.

You have created so many enemies by constantly either pissing on people or lecturing those who you deem not to know as much as you. When you are saying you do not care you are not telling the truth. You would not have wasted time streaching out your hand in your post above if not.

So think long and hard about how you treat other people and I am sure those people will see you in a different light, try it once it does feel good. I am sure if we met in person you would not act this way, the possible results of that I think you know. So why not do a little soul searching and TRY to put your IQ and your knowledge to good use, in other words leave the dark side Ian.

Your reply to this will most likely be "I am entitled to my opinions" and you are right but this is not about quality of posts as much as attitudes and negative wibes.

[rrdstarr]

I do get information from Ian! I appreciate it when he takes the time to answer my questions. Thanks, Ian!

I know the Ian's have personal issues, I didn't see them attack each other when we were all together in GOX II? Maybe AF forums needs an ALR like XOC does?

So my point is KNOCK IT THE FUCK OFF!

If you have something constructive to add, do it! If your opinion differs from that person, state it! Just lay off the personal attacks! Shit we are a small community...let's try and work and learn together!

Oh yeah! NUKE THE GAY WHALES!

-Rick

[Schludwiller]

Unfortunately Ian I have had to delete many of your inflamatory posts here. I really would prefer if you could take part in the discussions in a constructive non-insulting way. Obviously you have a level of knowledge and experience that benefits the board, but not at the expense of creating a hostile environment for the other users.

There are many levels of drivers here, and the idea is to share information from very basic to subjects that require a high level of mechanical know-how. This is not a competition to see who's got the greatest mechanical or offroad knowledge. I'll admit I'm somewhere in the middle. But I listen to those who know more than me, and try and pass on what I've learned to newer offroaders who visit. I get messages all the time from people who appreciate the helpful manner and quality of information they get from users of this board. As long as that happens I know we're on target here.

Maybe you didn't notice, but I stopped posting on XOC a few weeks back. I found that I was allowing myself to get involved in pissing matches with you, and was being provocative myself. As I said on your board, it really doesn't give me any pleasure, and I decided I would be happier if I removed myself from the exchanges. When I see you come here and extend your aggresive demeanor I'm quick to attack as are others here.

You seem to have taken this last round a bit personally. I found some of your statements to be more personal attacks than usual, and in turn I made some harsh statements myself. I wish they didn't have to take place, but I'm not one to back down from insults. I've hung out with you, drank beer, shared dinner and I know we don't share hostilities when in each others presence. These message boards always make it easy to say things you wouldn't face to face, and part of my competitive nature just sees it as verbal jousting where I'm just trying to win with words on the screen. If that carries over after you or I turn off the computers then I apologize.

You said you would never want to be my friend. That's ok, we're not neighbors, but I would ask you to consider that people in our clubs have made statements on these boards defending both our characters. Likewise, some of those who haven't met us personally think us assholes because all they see is this on-line presence. Xlax and SuperJens are great to hang out with, but I'm sure your opinion of them on-line is less than complimentary. I guess what I'm saying is I'll separate my judgement of you on-line from our personal interaction, and I hope you would give me the same courteousy. I'll still wheel and drink beer with you if we find each other in Moab our Ouray, and I'm willing to reduce the on-screen attacks if you are.

[ScottG]

In summary, noone thinks you're useless, just an asshole

Originally posted by rrdstarr
Maybe AF forums needs an ALR like XOC does?

Please, no! Leave that crap over there.

[xoc]

Originally posted by warmonger
But likewise, I want you to search through your posts and find one instance where I have flamed or treated you the way you have treated me.

I found dozens of threads where you and I discussed topics back and forth, and the result was good for the community. The only flame I could find is when we disagreed on lower transfer case gearing (Calmini 3.60:1 gearing thread). You had the same attitude I usually have, since you didn't know I had spent time 4 wheeling in Florida, in real mud. In that thread I stated your reasoning was a "load of nonsense" which you took as an insult. It was not an insult, it was me stating that your reasoning was wrong, and several other board members agreed. I would expect you to be a lot thicker skinned so that comments like that do not come off as an insult.

Right after the above thread you sent me a threatening private message. You asked me not to disagree with you in a public forum, rather only in private. I was amazed that such a trivial comment such as "a load of nonsense" would drive you to that. These are public message boards, there is no reason for me to take my posts private if I have a difference of opinion with a topic. And remember that, when I disagree, I am disagreeing with a topic posted by a person, it is not a disagreement with the individual as a whole. People post good information and bad, that does not make me disagree with everything they say.

This last go-round started when Fabien arrived, and people mocked XOC without knowing the reason he left. Should I stand by and just watch as people make fun of me and XOC, or should I explain why ?

Everyone has their own reasons for disliking me, but some times I can't figure out why. I have never had a problem with SuperJens on AF or XOC until Fabien's thread this week. Now I'm his number one bad guy.
I wish I could figure you guys out.

Xlax, you need to look harder, there are dozens of posts from me on AF in many forums where I ask questions about things and are very objective. There is a lot here for me to learn as well.

I think people only seem to remember the bad things, and not always the good things or things in the middle.

[xoc]

Originally posted by ScottG
In summary, noone thinks you're useless, just an asshole

Well, that's one thing I can agree with.
I am an asshole, and I don't deny it.

[Xlax]

Originally posted by xoc


This last go-round started when Fabien arrived, and people mocked XOC without knowing the reason he left. Should I stand by and just watch as people make fun of me and XOC, or should I explain why ?

Everyone has their own reasons for disliking me, but some times I can't figure out why. I have never had a problem with SuperJens on AF or XOC until Fabien's thread this week. Now I'm his number one bad guy.
I wish I could figure you guys out.

Xlax, you need to look harder, there are dozens of posts from me on AF in many forums where I ask questions about things and are very objective. There is a lot here for me to learn as well.

I think people only seem to remember the bad things, and not always the good things or things in the middle.

Well this is a start!. See Ian, it does not hurt !. The reation to Fabiens thread here on AF was due to your usual bashful manner. I read the thread on XOC about him wanting a Canadian Forum, your initial response to him plus your tounge in cheek remark about Schuld bending over, was an insult so the lines were drawn from there.

Schuld makes an excellent point in regards to Internet personality vs reality. I for one am far better at expressing myself in person than hammering on a keyboard. The way people absorbs info they read is influenced by the mood they are in at the very moment they see the message. I have often posted,reread it later and realized that I could have come across in a different manner.

I am not saying we have to smoke the pipe and sing cumbaya,just ensure that you are responsible for your actions and people will treat you the way you treat them (in the way they persive it).

Ain't communication great? (my moms words after kicking my dad out)

Claus

[superjens]

XOC, I don't consider you to be my "number one bad guy". I just think there are better ways for you to spread your knowledge, ideas and arguments without getting mad half the time. Nobody doubts that you know a lot and have good things to share with us, if you only used your powers for Good instead of Evil the Xterra world would be a better place!

And this is my whole point, you make valuable contributions that I, for one, am grateful for (greatful?). I can't help but feel bad for you when you start bitching at people.

You were right when you said "there are dozens of posts from me on AF in many forums where I ask questions about things and are very objective. There is a lot here for me to learn as well. I think people only seem to remember the bad things, and not always the good things or things in the middle." This is absolutely true. Being objective and factual are positive traits, dragging people through the proverbial mud and picking fights are not though.

I've met Schlud in person, and I can say I'm very glad I did. Even though he stole my truck in the middle of the night! I'm very selective of those I wish to have as friends and would not hesitate giving him the shirt off my back. So when you explained Fabien's reason for coming here and added that Schlud would "bend over and make a Canadian forum for him", this was just wrong, and was the basis for my other posts. It had no place in that topic, and it was obvious that you were pissed off because somebody left your board for this one. You wanted to stir the pot so I added some shit to the soup.

With all this said, I'd like to withdraw from further discussions about this worn out topic. I believe I've made myself heard and understood by now. I hope you stick around, I hope we can meet one day and share a good laugh or two, and I hope we can all continue to learn from each other's experiences, knowledge and opinions in a positive manner from here on.

[Matt Peckham]

In general I think Ian has taken the high road (for the most part) here.

It's easy to bash the XOC. They don't discriminate. Anyone can join, and at the same time, anyone can be picked on, slammed, provide hours of useless drivel, etc etc etc. I somehow doubt that Ian started the place as a community where people would post photos of supermodels (although, I find that thread to be interesting...) but that is what it has become. It also has places where useful information exists. If you pretty much skip from the general forums (general, i.e. about anyfugginthing) and go to the parts and accessories and Care and maintenance, and Driven sections, you WILL find good information. I may be a moderator of the ALR, but I honestly barely go there to post, usually only to patrol.

But I have gone offtrack already...

Ian has taken the high road because he allowed his board to turn into what it has become. It has turned into a community, not a club, but a community. 95% of Xterra owners DO NOT take their X offroad. That's OK. Does that mean they can't hang with the other folks? He provides a place for all Xterra owners to learn, chat, bullshit, and even make some stupid mistakes.

BUT, he also posts here. He adds content to YOUR community, even though he has his own community, which is often forgotten by the people who he probably started it for, the gearheads. There are many good threads over here. I see a lot of interesting stuff. But at the same time, it is pretty much a clique. Sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, pinheads, dweebies, wonkers, richies. Cliques. People from here who post lots of useful info will only go there to flame or to post when they are mentioned. Those people almost never post info on XOC. I see that as sad. Maybe the XOC has become the AOL of the Xterra world, maybe not. But Ian as a person has posted information on ALL messageboards, when he thinks he knows what he is talking about. He spreads the info wherever he can, even when it may cause his site to suffer. What happens when the 13 yr olds who run this site get bored? All this great info is lost.

Sniff.

[Xlax]

Matt, not to piss you off but I can not find your point in relation to this discussion?

I am not going to dig deeper as I think we all said our peace, lets move on......

[Schludwiller]

Originally posted by Xlax
Matt, not to piss you off but I can not find your point in relation to this discussion?

I am not going to dig deeper as I think we all said our peace, lets move on......

I'm not sure either. This is not going to become an XOC (the board) vs AF thread. If Ian has anything else to say I'll leave the thread open. Otherwise I'm ready to move on and close it.

[Matt Peckham]

I think it relates to how Ian started the thread, but maybe not how it was heading.